Thesis supervisor
: Sylvy Jaglin
Taking a critical view of the expectations surrounding the digitization of cities, our project focuses on the material and spatial dimensions of digital infrastructure as applied to urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa. African cities are characterized by widespread urban sprawl, inefficient planning, and the development of informal neighborhoods that are often under-equipped. Faced with local governments that have little technical and financial capital, they suffer from urban services of varying quality and infrastructure delays. The digital boom in Africa requires the development of physical digital infrastructure: fiber optic networks, satellite internet equipment, data centers, etc. Before it can compensate for the shortcomings of other urban infrastructure, digital development is therefore constrained by them.
We will address the processes of territorialization of urban digital socio-technical systems. This analysis positions our research project at the crossroads of three fields. First, urban planning and development, focusing on the modes and conditions of deployment and integration of digital infrastructure in urban spaces. Second, science and technology studies (STS), which enable us to address the logic of construction and consolidation of digital ecosystems in conditions of infrastructural interdependence (particularly with the urban energy network). Finally, geopolitics and sociopolitics, which address infrastructure action and financing systems through the analysis of actors' strategies and trade-offs. Following this analysis of supply, we will focus on the results in terms of the geography of access and usage. Our research is based on a qualitative approach (field surveys, data collection, discourse analysis, etc.) and a comparative approach between two fields, with the aim of highlighting the determining factors for integrated urban digital development.
Year of enrollment
: 2019
Doctoral school
: City, Transport and Territories (VTT)